The State of Women in the Workplace

Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day allow us to collectively reflect on the plight of women in this country and abroad. Despite the many struggles they have faced at every point in history, women have consistently proven to be resilient. In the patriarchal systems that govern much of the world, including the United States, the environment that persists to be among the most challenging for women, is the workplace.

A History of Women in the Workplace

During the Women’s Rights Movement, which began in 1848 and ended in 1917, and the Women’s Movement in the 1960’s, women had had enough. Women rallied together to fight for equal rights.

There hasn’t been a time since the formation of the workplace across industries, when women have not been disenfranchised. The Women’s Movement of the 1960s and 1970s not only brought an influx of women into the workforce but also implemented laws that changed the course of history for women in the workforce.

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
The Equal Pay Act of 1963
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
The Pregnancy Discrimination Action of 1978

Challenges Women Face in the Workplace Today

Although the efforts of the Women’s Rights Movement and The Women’s Movement were monumental in transforming the rights of women in the workforce, there is still a long way to go to reach full equality.

Women in the workplace today are still facing many challenges. Discriminatory treatment while on the job based on gender is not a thing of the past. During the pandemic, we saw many women leaving the workforce with no plans of returning. Many workplaces across the nation remain a toxic environment for women— where women do not feel safe.

Microaggressions have an insidious effect on women, eventually making enduring them impossible.

“Microaggressions in the workplace, make you want to quit”, said Lenna Turner, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging at Salary.com. “In the workplace, women often find that when their words are repeated by a man it has a better reception. I can remember my words being paraphrased by a male colleague who prefaced his paraphrasing with ‘put in another way.’ I was not necessarily shocked, but it was hurtful and demeaning. As a woman, you quickly learn that your point won’t be taken because of who you are.”.

Sexual harassment while on the job continues to this day even though it was made illegal under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the Harvard Business Review, “40% of women say they’ve been sexually harassed at work—a number that, remarkably, has not changed since the 1980s.”

The #MeToo movement of 2017, empowered women to speak up by sharing their stories of sexual harassment— with many women sharing their experiences of incidents that happened at work.

Another big challenge faced by women in the workplace, is the disproportionate under representation of women in leadership. According to the ‘Women in the Workplace’ research report conducted by McKinsey, “The biggest obstacle women face on the path to senior leadership is at the first step up to manager. For every 100 men promoted from entry level to manager, only 87 women are promoted, and only 82 women of color are promoted. As a result, men significantly outnumber women at the manager level, and women can never catch up. There are simply too few women to promote into senior leadership positions.”

Intersectional Identities and the Workplace

The discrimination of women in the workplace with intersecting identities is rooted in racism, religious bigotry, homophobia and ignorance. Dealing with gender biases and prejudices that come with being a woman paired with the biases and prejudices that come with being a woman of color, an LGBTQIA+ woman, a woman holding particular religious and spiritual beliefs as well as neurodivergent women can make workplace discrimination utterly unbearable.

The Gender Pay Gap

The gender pay gap is one of the biggest indicators of discrimination faced by women in the workplace. According to Forbes, the average woman earns just 82 cents for every dollar earned by a man. This disparity is even greater for women of color, with African American women earning just 60 cents and Latinas earning only 55 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men.

DEI&B for Women in the Workplace

Many companies are making it a point to hire women. They even have required quotas to fill to ensure a certain percentage of women are represented within their organization. But simply hiring women to meet quotas without fair pay wages, equal treatment, career advancement opportunities and a sense of belonging is futile.

Belonging happens when women see women that look like them in the workplace. Belonging happens when women are not just seen but heard. Belonging is the key to a thriving workplace where women are included in decision-making, activities and events.

Many women hold other titles outside their job title. As primary caregivers and parents, many employers do not make considerations for these other responsibilities.

“Because of the intersectionality of the many hats women wear that men traditionally don’t, many of these activities take place when women may need to do something like childcare pickup,” Turner said.

Women Abroad

Women around the world are facing many of the same or worse gender discriminatory practices as women in the U.S. In many countries around the world, women are still fighting for basic rights both in and outside of the workplace. The global fight for justice and equality empowers all women. As women from all over the world witness each other reaching milestones in the journey to gender equity, they become reinvigorated.

Trailblazing Women

Despite the odds being stacked against women in the workplace, women still rise above the ranks reaching success across industries. There are many women who continue to challenge the roles set for women in society through their inspiring achievements as women leaders. Vice President Kamala Harris made history as the first vice president of the United States of America. Mary Barra, President and CEO of General Motors, is not only the first woman to hold this title, but also the first woman to hold the title of CEO in the automobile sector. As the highest paid female CEO, Martine Rothblatt has not only made history with her earnings but also through her activism in the field of gender identity.

At Salary.com this month and every month we celebrate all those who identify as a woman — cis women, trans women, gender non-conforming women, women in the U.S. and abroad. As we continue to support companies and organizations in providing equitable pay for women, we always choose to stand by women in the fight for equality.